Hello and thank you for signing Democracy Watch’s petition calling for key changes to make the federal Conservatives’ so-called “Fair Elections Act” (Bill C-23) actually fair. If you signed your support has helped win key changes to the bill – changes that made voter ID requirements reasonable; closed a loophole that would have allowed millions of dollars of secret spending by political parties, and allowed them to appoint even more election workers; and changes that freed Elections Canada to communicate with the public and support voter education programs in schools, and; that strengthened anti-fraud robocall measures.
But if Bill C-23 passes as is, federal elections will still be unfair in the following key ways:
- political parties will still receive millions of dollars of the public’s money without having to show Elections Canada any receipts;
- hikes in donation limits will make it easier for rich people to have more influence over politicians, and it will also be easier for big businesses and unions to make illegal donations to parties and politicians as happened in the Quebec corruption scandal;
- Canada’s big banks will still be allowed to buy influence with political parties and politicians by giving them unlimited loans, and;
- political parties will still audit their own spending and donations.
You may have seen last week that the results of the investigation into the 2011 election fraud robocalls was released with radio, newspaper and TV stories about it. If Bill C-23 passes as is, you will never see another report like that – election watchdogs will be required to keep the results of most of their investigations secret.
The committee of senators who reviewed Bill C-23 called for this secrecy rule to be removed from the bill, and they will get a chance soon to make changes to the bill. So there is still hope for making this and other key changes.
Also, if Bill C-23 passes as is, political parties will still choose people who work at voting stations during elections. To ensure all voting stations are run fairly, the federal election agency, Elections Canada, should choose the people who run voting stations.
Finally, Bill C-23 does nothing to correct flaws with how federal elections are run now: parties will still be allowed to bait you with false promises; many votes still won’t really count as parties will still often win power even if they are not supported by a majority of voters, and; many election candidates will still be selected in nomination races that are rigged by party leaders.It is interesting that Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative pitch man for this bill said at first reading that the bill was perfect as it stood, and changes wouldn't be introduced. Since then, On April 25th, Minister of State for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre announced that the Government would be making a number of significant amendments to Bill C-23, the Fair Elections Act. Among the amendments announced are:
Adopting the Manitoba Model for vouching. Voters who do not have a piece of ID to conclusively prove their residence will be allowed to have another voter with the required ID and proof of residence to co-sign an oath to attest to their residency;
Removing the provision exempting the cost of mail and phone calls to past donors from the election spending cap;
Ensuring the chief electoral officer knows he has the freedom to speak or report on any matter;
Maintaining Elections Canada’s discretion in appointing central poll supervisors;
Requiring robocall firms and call-centre companies to retain their audio recordings and scripts for three years, rather than one;
Allowing Elections Canada to support programs that explain voting to primary and secondary school students.
So please keep spreading the word to everyone you know across Canada to sign this petition so that MPs from all parties, and senators, will hear from more and more people calling for key changes to make the so-called “Fair Elections Act”, and federal elections, actually fair.
You can see more about Democracy Watch’s campaign for fair elections at:
democracywatch.ca/campaigns/ma…And please also donate to keep this campaign going until federal elections are fully fair in every way at:
democracywatch.ca/donate/You may also be interested in supporting Democracy Watch’s many other campaigns to make Canada the world’s leading democracy – you can see all those campaigns listed at:
democracywatch.ca/campaigns/Thank you again for your support, and for your help spreading the word about this petition!
Take care,
Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
and from Democracy Watch’s many volunteers and supporters across Canada
Please spread the word by Facebook, Twitter, email, or carrier pidgeon
This message was sent by Democracy Watch using the Change.org system. You received this email because you signed a petition started by Democracy Watch on Change.org: "Prime minister Harper: Make the Fair Elections Act actually fair." Change.org does not endorse the contents of this message.
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